Iron man

• No not the movie with Robert Downey Junior or the sequel that opens in South Africa next week it’s the event held in PE every year that comprises of a 3.8km swim, 108 km cycle and a 41km run, well this year was my first and I decided that I had to really get myself fit (both body and mind) to be able to do it justice and not let family or friends down. As you can imagine its an event that if you get involved in it you want to do it properly there can be no half measures. Even though this would be my first Iron man I did my homework and I am very proud at what I managed to achieve in such a short space of time seeing that many first timers before me have not even come close to my pace or distance.
  
  Many people think that being a spectator along the route of the Iron Man is easy and not one that needs to be thought out or that you have to train for. I mean with no cars allowed near the road where the competitors are cycling or running you have to carry the chair, portable braai and all the goods you need yourself…….this takes a lot out of you and its even wors (sorry meant worse) if you have forgotten the braai salt and need to go back home for it. Our house is about 800 meters from the route and I must say the walk into the wind really took it out of my legs but I knew that if I dug deep and crossed that pain threshold I would be able to make the rest of the 25 meters with my head held high. I am not proud to say that as I passed one of the water points I did ask for a glass of coke that would give me the energy boost needed to actually set up the folding chairs and light the braai. I have immense respect for those people that had to walk a kilometre or more as the training and planning for this must have taken at least a week………Some of those spectators being so fit that they did not even bother to ask for a cup of coke at the watering point…………..”Respect brothers, Respect” Next year I am going to have to put in another 45 minutes exercise into ensuring I make the walk to my spot without stopping or having to ask for that cup of warm coke.
  
  Talking about Iron men, its Mark “meatbomb” Hortons birthday today (Sunday 25/4/2010), Have a great day bro wish I could be there to celebrate with you, but will have a beer for you anyway. Enjoy. (From all the Dunkley Clan)
  
  Well what else has Moi been up to this week? Well in case you have not heard I GOT A JOB (YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE) I will be on a 6 month contract and during this time I will be getting trained up by the gents at the local NOSA office . I am so chuffed as this is a vocation that I want to be in and feel I am suited to. Ryan (My Brother in law) but more like my Brother has been very instrumental in assisting me in getting some experience and getting me to help him in an environmental play, this in turn has allowed the right people to see me at work and it seems they feel I have potential and that I have been MOTIVATED enough to go out and look for an opportunity and not wait for it to look for me. This is an awesome break for me and I am going to grab it with both hands as well as wrap my legs around it. Also just goes to prove that
  
  An older and paler SA citizen can get a job in SA
  · If you are motivated enough you can make things happen
  
  The NOSA team in PE are the best and I am very fortunate to be able to be learning from them. At the end of 6 months we will discuss whether or not I will be offered a permanent position (I know that this will happen because I want it to and will put in the effort to ensure it does happen) but even if for some reason it does not I would be able to move forward with the training and experience (that I can use internationally) that I have been so fortunate to pick up. as well as completing my Diploma by correspondance. I Also want to say thanks to all Family and Friends that took the effort to contact me personally and say congratulations and that i deserved it , much appreciated, many of you actually feel more like family than just friends.
  
  
  Saw this sign at a local biltong shop, that made me do a double take, now if I was they I would word their boards a little better (as the biltong is packed for teething babies) but if the British press get a hold of it they will be advising all travellers for the SWC that we are now eating the people (especially babies) killed in our recent race war.
  
  I Was in East London or 3 days this week with Ryan to do environmental play was last there in 1989, and must say was not that impressed and who would want to live there voluntary must not have seen P E. Ryan and I also had to present the play to selected clients as well as the MD of NOSA on Friday and it was received very well. hopefully this will become a huge training tool for NOSA. It looks like Ryan and I may to present the play to the group at the end of May and it seems that are planning to slot us in to the NOSHCON conference in September where we would be presenting in front of 500 delegates as well as Jim Harris (well known author and environmentalist) who was an assistant of Al Gore’s in producing the Inconvenient Truth………..All very exciting.
  
  PE average dam level is now 35.6% with the one dam being at 10.4%, we have had some rain but not in the areas that matter. Soon we will be on further daily water restrictions. So to all of you that have plenty water, loo after it, it’s a precious resource. Did you know that only 1% of all water on Earth is fit for human consumption (yes 1%) and we are still doing our best to pollute it.
  
  I am still doing the Clarens Connection Newsletter from PE and must say is going from Strength to Strength with many a favourable comment coming in and a number of new people asking to be put on the data base and all this without any personal comments, fighting with the readers, jokes, riddles or photos, just goes to show you that people are looking for Content and not Crap.
  
  Ryan reminded me the other day in a training session about the delivery bikes that used to swarm around our roads in the 1980’s (they where sort of S A’s early e-mails) as they where used to deliver messages and anything else as fast as they could from one business to another and if you think Taxi drivers are bad then these Kamikaze pilots on two wheels just had to be seen, I think that those who became redundant probably became taxi drivers. I remember vividly coming to a robot (sorry for those none south Africans or those that have been out of the country so long they cant remember a robot Is a traffic light.) and it would like the start of a Super bike race with CD200’s and various other small bore bikes vying for position at the next robot. Accidents where plentiful, I personally saw a gent open his car door only to have a delivery rider take it off its hinges, I saw another delivery bike rider pinned under his bike with a Kombi balancing on that (right in front of the Charlton centre). I also remember attending a race meeting at the Old Kyalami Race track and they held a delivery bike race (2 laps of Kyalami) well you had to be there because It was mayhem., let me try to describe it for you.
  
  There must have been 45-50 bikes entered ranging from a Honda 50 to brand new Suzuki 400 Katana. The race was two laps and the competitors where all dressed in their finery, one dude even had wings on his helmet. Those of you that know the Old Kyalami race track will know that cars and bikes raced in a clockwise direction with the long straight coming into a tight right hander then a sweep into another right hander. The Katana 400 hit the front and was at least 100m in the lead as he approached the first corner (we where sitting in the stands positioned there) being in the lead must have got the better of him as he forgot to lean into the corner and carried on straight proceeding to crash into the barriers. Another of the bikes as it hit the second corner also got stage fright and wrapped himself and the bike in a fence. (It took nearly an hour for the emergency services to cut him out) while all his chaos was happening a dude on a Honda 50cc came toottling down the straight with a purple suit and shoes on with a matching helmet (Barney on a bike), he at least did not crash but after the first lap 12 of the bikes had crashed and they stopped the race. It was an event they would never hold again.
  
  Has been plenty of talk about the buying of Tickets for the SWC at FIFA centres and especially the first day. Well it was not the best managed event that I have seen but South Africa cannot be blamed for this shoddy service because a) it was FIFA rues and regulations and b) It is a British company that has been tasked to sell the tickets. I just hope that the POMS get there act together for the Olympic game’s in 2012 otherwise South Africa may just have to take it over from them. I am also going to be developing a bombproof vest for any South African going over there so that they are safe against Muslim suicide attacks. I will also be advising South Africans where not to go in the UK to avoid being mugged, racially abused, raped and shot (Bradford, Leicster, Grimsby, Sheffield parts of London etc etc).
  
  So for FIFA and POMMIE ticket sellers a couple of tips when selling tickets to the general public (especially in South Africa)
  
  1) Ensure the system actually works (do a test) before you open the doors to start selling
  2) Have staff advising people queuing up what the process is
  3) You should have had newspaper articles and radio adverts to advise ticket buyers what they needed to bring with (to many rumours as to what the process was)
  4) Why open at 9am and let us stand for hours when unnecessary
  5) Proper system in place for queuing
  6) A TV outside playing scenes from previous world cups should have been set up.
  7) A board set up to advise what tickets are still available (surely that could have been linked to a computer so you could see in real time what was still available)
  8) Ensure the hotline number you have set up is actually operational
  9) Perhaps security presence other than 4 fat Majingalaans should have been there.
  
  Having said that I have tickets I am going to The World Cup and will definitely be joining fans at the Fan Park to watch the Bafana Bafana Games. SAFA have struck a deal with FIFA to use this field for Bafana’s first round matches as will enable them to get into the last 16.
  
  It seems that Eugene Terblanche was not only the leader of the AWB, Farmer, Part time horseman he was also an amateur Sailor. It would seem according to the police that Semen was found on the body of this Adolf Hitler “wanna be”. So perhaps now the acronym for AWB could be ANY WILLING BOY/s or Always wanting B___WJ__S. Talk your way out of this one. (he he)
  
  A headline I saw in one of those ex - pat newspapers said “Britain shut to the world”, Not a bad thing as far as I am concerned unless of course you’re a ‘”Proud to be Sefrican living 14 to a room in Paddington ex-pat as long as its not with black people” who seem to love the place. There is no accounting for taste.
  
  Was My Nieces birthday on Wednesday, sharing a birth date with the queen (no not Elton John) Lizzy, the bag lady with huge amounts of money, 2 Corgi’s and a castle or two. Not that I think Amber need to brag about that when she is older. But anyway Amber is now 1 year old and I am sure she had a fantastic birthday with all of the family that reside in the UK. So from South Africa “Happy Birthday Amber” may you have many many many many more we where thinking about you on your 1st birthday which is always a special one. Hope you enjoyed your present from Africa.
  
  On Wednesday my mom had another eye op to reattach the retina that had again come loose, hopefully this time the eye will heal and that all will be 100%. My mom is a brave lady and has put up with a lot of discomfort and uncertainty about her eye for the last few months. “Love ya Mom”.
  
  On Thursday Tania’s dad had his 70th Birthday and on Friday we had a really Lekker (for non South Africans that means NICE) dinner at our house, was a very nice evening with the grandkids in attendance playing and fighting and generally being kids. The present that Kirsten and Tania thought up and with input from Nicole via e-mail and Skype from Londonium (that was the Roman name for London) is awesome and I am sure will be a treasured possession of Dad’s for many years to come. I think Tania did an awesome job of the mosaic, ably assisted by Kirsten with some of the inserts having been made by her for the present and as I said input from across the ocean from Nicky (Well done ladies). Took a few nice photos of dad receiving his gift and with the grandkids this one that will need to be framed and hung pride of place with all the others of the grandkids.
  
  I see we have a problem with fake R200 notes, now I have a problem with the banks about this because they will not honour fake R200 notes brought in, but then they should not put them in auto tellers. What if I get R200 notes from the auto teller I then go to a shop to buy something and they say its fake, you take the note/s to the bank and they wont take it even though you have received it from their auto teller, why because you cannot prove it. That’s why I say they should not put R200 notes in the auto tellers. To me it’s a good way of getting rid of their fake notes (but that’s just a theory and like JM’s outbursts not thought out or based on fact)
  
  A creative idea of what we can do with potholes…………and this photo was taken in the USA so its not just in SA that have holes in the roads. I bet if you really looked carefully you might even find a few in England.

Sports roundup for this week
Stormers Lost (16/13 to the Reds…..watch the Reds in the semi’s)
Cheetahs drew 25 all with the Chiefs
Bulls won (51/11)
Lions lost (10 games 10 losses)
Sharks won as well (starting to play well again and have an outside chance of getting into the semi’s)

A top 10 complaint received by a travel agent (true stuff)
A man took the time to write in and complain that no one had informed him that there were fish in the sea, and his children had been caught unaware and were now extremely frightened.


Well that’s about it for this week

Ciao

The Village idiot (now living in PE)